CHAPTER XVIII AN ELECTRIC RAILWAYNo toys loom up before the mind of the average boy with more appeal to his love of adventure than do railway cars and trains. In England, the construction and operation of miniature railways is the hobby not only of boys but of grown men, and on a scale that is hardly appreciated in this country.The height of ambition of many boys is not only to own a miniature railway system but to build one. For some unknown reason, none of the boys’ papers or books have heretofore given any information on this interesting subject. The car shown in Figure 263 is such that it can be easily built by any boy willing to exercise the necessary care and patience in its construction.The first operation is to cut out the floor of the car. This is a rectangular piece of hard wood, eight inches long, three and one-quarter inches wide and one-half of an inch thick. Its exact shape and dimensions are shown in Figure 264.The rectangular hole cut in the floor permits the belt which drives the wheels to pass down from the counter-shaft to the axle.Fig. 263.—Complete Electric Railway operated by Dry Cells.Fig. 263.—Complete Electric Railway operated by Dry Cells. Note how the Wires from the Battery are connected to the Rails by means of the Wooden Conductors illustrated in Figure 277.The two pieces forming the wheel-bearings are cut out of sheet-brass according to the shape and dimensions shown in Figure 265. The brass should be one-sixteenth of an inch thick. The two projecting pieces at the top are bent over at right angles so that they can be mounted on the under side of the car floor by small screws passing through the holes. The holes which form the bearings for the ends of the axles upon which the wheels are mounted should be three inches apart. The bearings cannot be placed in position on the under side of the car floor until the wheels and axles are ready, but when this work is done, care should be taken to see that they line up and come exactly opposite to each other.Fig. 264.—Details of the Floor of the Car.Fig. 264.—Details of the Floor of the Car.The wheels themselves cannot be made by the young experimenter unless he has a lathe. They are flanged wheels, one and one-eighth inches in diameter, and are turned from cast iron or brass. Such wheels can be purchased ready made, or it may be possible to obtain from some broken toy a set which will prove suitable.Fig. 265.—Details of the Bearing which supports the Wheel and Axle.Fig. 265.—Details of the Bearing which supports the Wheel and Axle.Each shaft is composed of two pieces of "Bessemer" rod held together by a short piece of fiber rod having a hole in each end into which one end of each piece of iron rod is driven. The wheels fit tightly on the other end of each of these pieces. They should be spaced so as to run on rails two inches apart.Fig. 266.—The Wheels and Axle.Fig. 266.—The Wheels and Axle.The purpose of the fiber rod is to insulate the halves of the axle from each other. The electric current which operates the car is carried by the two rails which form the track, and if the axles were made in one piece or the halves joined together so as to form an electrical connection, the battery furnishing the current would be short-circuited, because the current would pass along the two rails and across the axles instead of through the motor.One pair of wheels are fitted with a grooved pulley one inch in diameter.It is hardly necessary to say that the wheels and axles should be perfectly aligned, and should run true.Fig. 267.—The Motor.Fig. 267.—The Motor.The motor used to drive the car will prove more satisfactory if purchased ready made. A self-starting three-pole motor similar to that shown in Figure 267 will serve very nicely. The wooden base should be removed and the motor screwed down firmly to the floor of the car as in Figure 268.One terminal of the motor is connected to one of the bearings, and the other terminal to the other bearing.The motor is belted to a countershaft so that it will have sufficient power to move the car. It cannot be directly connected or belted to the axle, because the speed of a small motor is so high that it has comparatively little turning power ortorque. The speed must be reduced and the torque increased before it will drive the car.The countershaft consists of two grooved pulleys mounted upon an axle running in two bearings mounted upon the floor of the car. The bearings are made from a strip of heavy sheet-brass, bent at right angles and fastened to the car floor with small screws. The large pulley,A, is one inch and one half in diameter and the small pulley,B, is five-sixteenths of an inch in diameter. The countershaft is mounted in such a position that a belt may be run from the small pulley,B, to the pulley mounted on the axle of one pair of wheels. A belt is also run from the small pulley on the motor to the large pulley,A, on the countershaft. The pulleys must all be carefully lined up so that the belts will run in their grooves without danger of slipping out.Fig. 268.—The Complete Truck of the Car without the Body.Fig. 268.—The Complete Truck of the Car without the Body.The shield on the platform at each end of the car is made of sheet-iron or tin. Two small projections on the bottom are bent over at right angles and used to secure the shields in position by driving a small tack through them into the floor of the car.The steps on either side of each platform are also made by bending strips of sheet-iron or tin and fastening them to the car with small nails or tacks.The coupler consists of a strip of tin having a small hook soldered to the end so that a trail car may be attached if desirable.Fig. 269.—Pattern for the Sides and Ends of the Car.Fig. 269.—Pattern for the Sides and Ends of the Car.The car is now ready for testing, and when held in the hand so that the wheels are free to run, two cells of dry battery should be found all that is necessary to drive them at a fair rate of speed. The two wires leading from the battery should be connected to the bearings, one wire leading to each bearing. It will require more than two cells, however, to drive the wheels properly when the car is on the track, All moving parts should run freely and smoothly. The car may be used just as it is, but if fitted with a body and a top it will present a much more realistic appearance.The sides and ends of the car body are made of sheet-iron or tin. Figure 269 shows the pattern and dimensions for these parts. They may be made from one piece of metal eighteen and one-half inches long and three and three-quarters inches wide. The doors and windows are cut out with a pair of tin-snips. The small projections along the top are bent down at right angles and the roof is fastened to them. The dotted lines indicate the places for bending these projections and also the sides and ends of the car.Fig. 270.—The Roof of the Car.Fig. 270.—The Roof of the Car.The roof is made in two pieces. It also is sheet-iron or tin. The roof proper is eight inches long and four inches wide. It has a hole five and one-half inches long and one and three-quarters inches wide cut in the center. A number of small projections are left and bent upward to support the deck and to form imitation ventilators. The deck is six inches long and two and one-quarter inches in width. It is placed in position on the roof and fastened by soldering. The roof is fastened to the sides and ends of the car by soldering. It must be bent slightly to conform with the curve at the top of the front and the rear of the car.Fig. 271.—The Completed Car.Fig. 271.—The Completed Car.The car when completed will appear as in Figure 271.The track is made of smooth spring steel, one-half inch wide and either No. 20 or No. 22 gauge in thickness.Fig. 272.–Details of a Wooden Tie.Fig. 272.–Details of a Wooden Tie.The wooden ties are three and one-half inches long, three-quarters of an inch wide and three-eighths of an inch thick. Each tie has two saw-cuts, exactly two inches apart across the top face. This part of the work is best performed in a miter-box so that the cuts will be perfectly square across the ties. A saw should be used which will make a cut of such a size that the steel track will fit tightly into it.The distance between the two rails of the track, or the "gauge," as it is called, is two inches.Fig. 273.–Arrangement of Track.Fig. 273.–Arrangement of Track.The track is assembled as in Figure 273. The spring steel is forced into the saw-cuts in the ties by tapping with a light wooden mallet. The ties should be spaced along the track about three inches apart. The work of laying the track must be very carefully done so that the car wheels will not bind at any spot. Curves should not be too sharp, or the car will not pass around.The track may be laid out in a number of different shapes, some of which are shown in Figure 274.Fig. 274.—Three Different Patterns for laying out the Track.Fig. 274.—Three Different Patterns for laying out the Track.A circle is the easiest form of track to make. In laying out a circle or any sort of curved track, the outside rail must necessarily be made longer than the inside one.The oval shape is a very good form to give the track in a great many cases, especially where it is desirable for the car to have a longer path than that afforded by a circle.Fig. 275.—Details of the Base of the Cross-over.Fig. 275.—Details of the Base of the Cross-over.In order to make a figure-eight out of the track, a crossing, or "cross-over," as it is sometimes called, will be required. This is shown in Figure 275. A cross-over permits two tracks to cross each other without interference. It consists of a wooden base, eight inches square and three-eighths of an inch thick. Four saw-cuts, each pair exactly parallel, and two inches apart, are made at right angles to each other across the top surface of the base, as shown in the illustration.The track used on the cross-over is semi-hard hoop-brass, one-half of an inch wide and of the same gauge as the steel track. The brass is more easily bent than the steel and is used for that reason, it being practically impossible to bend the steel track at right angles without snapping it.Four pieces of the brass, each five inches long, are bent at right angles exactly in the center. Four short pieces, each one and one-half inches long, will also be required.Fig. 276.—The Completed Cross-over.Fig. 276.—The Completed Cross-over.The cross-over is assembled as shown in Figure 276. The strips markedDare strips of very thin sheet-brass or copper. The purpose of these strips is to connect the ends of the track on the cross-over to the ends of the track forming the figure-eight so that the cross-over will not be a "dead" section, that is, a section of track where the car cannot get any current.The long strips, bent at right angles to each other and markedA,A,B,B, in the illustration, are forced into the saw-cuts in the base over the strips markedD.The small pieces,C,C,C,C, are placed in between the long strips, leaving a space between so that the flanges of the car wheels can pass. The pieces,C,C,C,C, should form a square open at the corners. The two long strips,A,A, should be at opposite corners diagonally across the square.BandBshould occupy the same relative position at the other corners.AandAare connected together andBandBare connected together by wires passing on the under side of the base.The ends of the track forming the figure-eight are forced into the saw-cuts at the edges of the base so that they form a good electrical connection with the small strips markedD.It is quite necessary to use care in arranging a figure-eight track, or there will be danger of short-circuiting the batteries. The outside rails of the figure-eight, distinguished by the letterBin the illustration, should be connected together by the cross-over. The inside rails, markedA, should also be connected together by the cross-over.In order to make a good mechanical and electrical connection between the ends of the rails when two or more sections of track are used in laying out the system, it is necessary to either solder the rails together or else use a connector such as that shown in Figure 277.This consists of a small block of wood having a saw-cut across its upper face and a piece of thin sheet-brass set into the cut. The two rails are placed with their ends abutting and one of these connectors slipped up from beneath and forced on the rails. The piece of thin brass set into the wooden block serves to make an electrical connection between the two rails and also to hold them firmly in position. A small screw and a washer placed outside the track and passing through the brass strip will allow a battery wire to be conveniently attached.Fig. 277.—A Connector for joining the Ends of the Rails.Fig. 277.—A Connector for joining the Ends of the Rails.The steel rails should be occasionally wiped with machine oil or vaseline to prevent rusting, and also to allow the car to run more freely wherever the flanges of the wheels rub against the rails in passing around a curve.Four dry cells or three cells of storage battery should be sufficient to operate the car properly. If it is desirable, a small rheostat may be included in the battery circuit, so that the speed of the car can be varied at will. The motor and the wheels should be carefully oiled so that they will run without friction. The belts should not be so tight that they cause friction or so loose that they allow the motor to slip, but should be so adjusted that the motor runs freely and transmits its power to the wheels.The car may be made reversible by fitting with a small current reverser, but unless the reverser is carefully made the danger of loss of power through poor contacts is quite considerable. If the car is fitted with a reverser the handle should be arranged to project from the car in a convenient place where it can be easily reached by the fingers and the car sent back or forth at will.A railway system such as this can be elaborated and extended by adding more than one car to the line or such features as bridges and stations.Fig. 278.—A Bumper for preventing the Car from leaving the Rails.Fig. 278.—A Bumper for preventing the Car from leaving the Rails.The ends of a blind section of track, that is, a straight piece of track not part of a circle or curve so that the car can return, should be fitted with a track bumper, to prevent the car leaving the rails.Fig. 279.—A Design for a Railway Bridge.Fig. 279.—A Design for a Railway Bridge.No dimensions are given in Figures 279 and 280, showing designs for a bridge and a station, because they are best left to be determined by the scale upon which the railway system is to be extended.Fig. 280.—A Design for a Railway Station.Fig. 280.—A Design for a Railway Station.Both the bridge and the station are very simple. The bridge is built entirely of wood, with the exception of the steel rails.The station may be made out of thin wood, such as cigar-box wood. The doors, windows, etc., may be painted on the walls. If this is carefully done, it will give a very realistic appearance to your station.MINIATURE LIGHTING
CHAPTER XVIII AN ELECTRIC RAILWAYNo toys loom up before the mind of the average boy with more appeal to his love of adventure than do railway cars and trains. In England, the construction and operation of miniature railways is the hobby not only of boys but of grown men, and on a scale that is hardly appreciated in this country.The height of ambition of many boys is not only to own a miniature railway system but to build one. For some unknown reason, none of the boys’ papers or books have heretofore given any information on this interesting subject. The car shown in Figure 263 is such that it can be easily built by any boy willing to exercise the necessary care and patience in its construction.The first operation is to cut out the floor of the car. This is a rectangular piece of hard wood, eight inches long, three and one-quarter inches wide and one-half of an inch thick. Its exact shape and dimensions are shown in Figure 264.The rectangular hole cut in the floor permits the belt which drives the wheels to pass down from the counter-shaft to the axle.Fig. 263.—Complete Electric Railway operated by Dry Cells.Fig. 263.—Complete Electric Railway operated by Dry Cells. Note how the Wires from the Battery are connected to the Rails by means of the Wooden Conductors illustrated in Figure 277.The two pieces forming the wheel-bearings are cut out of sheet-brass according to the shape and dimensions shown in Figure 265. The brass should be one-sixteenth of an inch thick. The two projecting pieces at the top are bent over at right angles so that they can be mounted on the under side of the car floor by small screws passing through the holes. The holes which form the bearings for the ends of the axles upon which the wheels are mounted should be three inches apart. The bearings cannot be placed in position on the under side of the car floor until the wheels and axles are ready, but when this work is done, care should be taken to see that they line up and come exactly opposite to each other.Fig. 264.—Details of the Floor of the Car.Fig. 264.—Details of the Floor of the Car.The wheels themselves cannot be made by the young experimenter unless he has a lathe. They are flanged wheels, one and one-eighth inches in diameter, and are turned from cast iron or brass. Such wheels can be purchased ready made, or it may be possible to obtain from some broken toy a set which will prove suitable.Fig. 265.—Details of the Bearing which supports the Wheel and Axle.Fig. 265.—Details of the Bearing which supports the Wheel and Axle.Each shaft is composed of two pieces of "Bessemer" rod held together by a short piece of fiber rod having a hole in each end into which one end of each piece of iron rod is driven. The wheels fit tightly on the other end of each of these pieces. They should be spaced so as to run on rails two inches apart.Fig. 266.—The Wheels and Axle.Fig. 266.—The Wheels and Axle.The purpose of the fiber rod is to insulate the halves of the axle from each other. The electric current which operates the car is carried by the two rails which form the track, and if the axles were made in one piece or the halves joined together so as to form an electrical connection, the battery furnishing the current would be short-circuited, because the current would pass along the two rails and across the axles instead of through the motor.One pair of wheels are fitted with a grooved pulley one inch in diameter.It is hardly necessary to say that the wheels and axles should be perfectly aligned, and should run true.Fig. 267.—The Motor.Fig. 267.—The Motor.The motor used to drive the car will prove more satisfactory if purchased ready made. A self-starting three-pole motor similar to that shown in Figure 267 will serve very nicely. The wooden base should be removed and the motor screwed down firmly to the floor of the car as in Figure 268.One terminal of the motor is connected to one of the bearings, and the other terminal to the other bearing.The motor is belted to a countershaft so that it will have sufficient power to move the car. It cannot be directly connected or belted to the axle, because the speed of a small motor is so high that it has comparatively little turning power ortorque. The speed must be reduced and the torque increased before it will drive the car.The countershaft consists of two grooved pulleys mounted upon an axle running in two bearings mounted upon the floor of the car. The bearings are made from a strip of heavy sheet-brass, bent at right angles and fastened to the car floor with small screws. The large pulley,A, is one inch and one half in diameter and the small pulley,B, is five-sixteenths of an inch in diameter. The countershaft is mounted in such a position that a belt may be run from the small pulley,B, to the pulley mounted on the axle of one pair of wheels. A belt is also run from the small pulley on the motor to the large pulley,A, on the countershaft. The pulleys must all be carefully lined up so that the belts will run in their grooves without danger of slipping out.Fig. 268.—The Complete Truck of the Car without the Body.Fig. 268.—The Complete Truck of the Car without the Body.The shield on the platform at each end of the car is made of sheet-iron or tin. Two small projections on the bottom are bent over at right angles and used to secure the shields in position by driving a small tack through them into the floor of the car.The steps on either side of each platform are also made by bending strips of sheet-iron or tin and fastening them to the car with small nails or tacks.The coupler consists of a strip of tin having a small hook soldered to the end so that a trail car may be attached if desirable.Fig. 269.—Pattern for the Sides and Ends of the Car.Fig. 269.—Pattern for the Sides and Ends of the Car.The car is now ready for testing, and when held in the hand so that the wheels are free to run, two cells of dry battery should be found all that is necessary to drive them at a fair rate of speed. The two wires leading from the battery should be connected to the bearings, one wire leading to each bearing. It will require more than two cells, however, to drive the wheels properly when the car is on the track, All moving parts should run freely and smoothly. The car may be used just as it is, but if fitted with a body and a top it will present a much more realistic appearance.The sides and ends of the car body are made of sheet-iron or tin. Figure 269 shows the pattern and dimensions for these parts. They may be made from one piece of metal eighteen and one-half inches long and three and three-quarters inches wide. The doors and windows are cut out with a pair of tin-snips. The small projections along the top are bent down at right angles and the roof is fastened to them. The dotted lines indicate the places for bending these projections and also the sides and ends of the car.Fig. 270.—The Roof of the Car.Fig. 270.—The Roof of the Car.The roof is made in two pieces. It also is sheet-iron or tin. The roof proper is eight inches long and four inches wide. It has a hole five and one-half inches long and one and three-quarters inches wide cut in the center. A number of small projections are left and bent upward to support the deck and to form imitation ventilators. The deck is six inches long and two and one-quarter inches in width. It is placed in position on the roof and fastened by soldering. The roof is fastened to the sides and ends of the car by soldering. It must be bent slightly to conform with the curve at the top of the front and the rear of the car.Fig. 271.—The Completed Car.Fig. 271.—The Completed Car.The car when completed will appear as in Figure 271.The track is made of smooth spring steel, one-half inch wide and either No. 20 or No. 22 gauge in thickness.Fig. 272.–Details of a Wooden Tie.Fig. 272.–Details of a Wooden Tie.The wooden ties are three and one-half inches long, three-quarters of an inch wide and three-eighths of an inch thick. Each tie has two saw-cuts, exactly two inches apart across the top face. This part of the work is best performed in a miter-box so that the cuts will be perfectly square across the ties. A saw should be used which will make a cut of such a size that the steel track will fit tightly into it.The distance between the two rails of the track, or the "gauge," as it is called, is two inches.Fig. 273.–Arrangement of Track.Fig. 273.–Arrangement of Track.The track is assembled as in Figure 273. The spring steel is forced into the saw-cuts in the ties by tapping with a light wooden mallet. The ties should be spaced along the track about three inches apart. The work of laying the track must be very carefully done so that the car wheels will not bind at any spot. Curves should not be too sharp, or the car will not pass around.The track may be laid out in a number of different shapes, some of which are shown in Figure 274.Fig. 274.—Three Different Patterns for laying out the Track.Fig. 274.—Three Different Patterns for laying out the Track.A circle is the easiest form of track to make. In laying out a circle or any sort of curved track, the outside rail must necessarily be made longer than the inside one.The oval shape is a very good form to give the track in a great many cases, especially where it is desirable for the car to have a longer path than that afforded by a circle.Fig. 275.—Details of the Base of the Cross-over.Fig. 275.—Details of the Base of the Cross-over.In order to make a figure-eight out of the track, a crossing, or "cross-over," as it is sometimes called, will be required. This is shown in Figure 275. A cross-over permits two tracks to cross each other without interference. It consists of a wooden base, eight inches square and three-eighths of an inch thick. Four saw-cuts, each pair exactly parallel, and two inches apart, are made at right angles to each other across the top surface of the base, as shown in the illustration.The track used on the cross-over is semi-hard hoop-brass, one-half of an inch wide and of the same gauge as the steel track. The brass is more easily bent than the steel and is used for that reason, it being practically impossible to bend the steel track at right angles without snapping it.Four pieces of the brass, each five inches long, are bent at right angles exactly in the center. Four short pieces, each one and one-half inches long, will also be required.Fig. 276.—The Completed Cross-over.Fig. 276.—The Completed Cross-over.The cross-over is assembled as shown in Figure 276. The strips markedDare strips of very thin sheet-brass or copper. The purpose of these strips is to connect the ends of the track on the cross-over to the ends of the track forming the figure-eight so that the cross-over will not be a "dead" section, that is, a section of track where the car cannot get any current.The long strips, bent at right angles to each other and markedA,A,B,B, in the illustration, are forced into the saw-cuts in the base over the strips markedD.The small pieces,C,C,C,C, are placed in between the long strips, leaving a space between so that the flanges of the car wheels can pass. The pieces,C,C,C,C, should form a square open at the corners. The two long strips,A,A, should be at opposite corners diagonally across the square.BandBshould occupy the same relative position at the other corners.AandAare connected together andBandBare connected together by wires passing on the under side of the base.The ends of the track forming the figure-eight are forced into the saw-cuts at the edges of the base so that they form a good electrical connection with the small strips markedD.It is quite necessary to use care in arranging a figure-eight track, or there will be danger of short-circuiting the batteries. The outside rails of the figure-eight, distinguished by the letterBin the illustration, should be connected together by the cross-over. The inside rails, markedA, should also be connected together by the cross-over.In order to make a good mechanical and electrical connection between the ends of the rails when two or more sections of track are used in laying out the system, it is necessary to either solder the rails together or else use a connector such as that shown in Figure 277.This consists of a small block of wood having a saw-cut across its upper face and a piece of thin sheet-brass set into the cut. The two rails are placed with their ends abutting and one of these connectors slipped up from beneath and forced on the rails. The piece of thin brass set into the wooden block serves to make an electrical connection between the two rails and also to hold them firmly in position. A small screw and a washer placed outside the track and passing through the brass strip will allow a battery wire to be conveniently attached.Fig. 277.—A Connector for joining the Ends of the Rails.Fig. 277.—A Connector for joining the Ends of the Rails.The steel rails should be occasionally wiped with machine oil or vaseline to prevent rusting, and also to allow the car to run more freely wherever the flanges of the wheels rub against the rails in passing around a curve.Four dry cells or three cells of storage battery should be sufficient to operate the car properly. If it is desirable, a small rheostat may be included in the battery circuit, so that the speed of the car can be varied at will. The motor and the wheels should be carefully oiled so that they will run without friction. The belts should not be so tight that they cause friction or so loose that they allow the motor to slip, but should be so adjusted that the motor runs freely and transmits its power to the wheels.The car may be made reversible by fitting with a small current reverser, but unless the reverser is carefully made the danger of loss of power through poor contacts is quite considerable. If the car is fitted with a reverser the handle should be arranged to project from the car in a convenient place where it can be easily reached by the fingers and the car sent back or forth at will.A railway system such as this can be elaborated and extended by adding more than one car to the line or such features as bridges and stations.Fig. 278.—A Bumper for preventing the Car from leaving the Rails.Fig. 278.—A Bumper for preventing the Car from leaving the Rails.The ends of a blind section of track, that is, a straight piece of track not part of a circle or curve so that the car can return, should be fitted with a track bumper, to prevent the car leaving the rails.Fig. 279.—A Design for a Railway Bridge.Fig. 279.—A Design for a Railway Bridge.No dimensions are given in Figures 279 and 280, showing designs for a bridge and a station, because they are best left to be determined by the scale upon which the railway system is to be extended.Fig. 280.—A Design for a Railway Station.Fig. 280.—A Design for a Railway Station.Both the bridge and the station are very simple. The bridge is built entirely of wood, with the exception of the steel rails.The station may be made out of thin wood, such as cigar-box wood. The doors, windows, etc., may be painted on the walls. If this is carefully done, it will give a very realistic appearance to your station.MINIATURE LIGHTING
CHAPTER XVIII AN ELECTRIC RAILWAYNo toys loom up before the mind of the average boy with more appeal to his love of adventure than do railway cars and trains. In England, the construction and operation of miniature railways is the hobby not only of boys but of grown men, and on a scale that is hardly appreciated in this country.The height of ambition of many boys is not only to own a miniature railway system but to build one. For some unknown reason, none of the boys’ papers or books have heretofore given any information on this interesting subject. The car shown in Figure 263 is such that it can be easily built by any boy willing to exercise the necessary care and patience in its construction.The first operation is to cut out the floor of the car. This is a rectangular piece of hard wood, eight inches long, three and one-quarter inches wide and one-half of an inch thick. Its exact shape and dimensions are shown in Figure 264.The rectangular hole cut in the floor permits the belt which drives the wheels to pass down from the counter-shaft to the axle.Fig. 263.—Complete Electric Railway operated by Dry Cells.Fig. 263.—Complete Electric Railway operated by Dry Cells. Note how the Wires from the Battery are connected to the Rails by means of the Wooden Conductors illustrated in Figure 277.The two pieces forming the wheel-bearings are cut out of sheet-brass according to the shape and dimensions shown in Figure 265. The brass should be one-sixteenth of an inch thick. The two projecting pieces at the top are bent over at right angles so that they can be mounted on the under side of the car floor by small screws passing through the holes. The holes which form the bearings for the ends of the axles upon which the wheels are mounted should be three inches apart. The bearings cannot be placed in position on the under side of the car floor until the wheels and axles are ready, but when this work is done, care should be taken to see that they line up and come exactly opposite to each other.Fig. 264.—Details of the Floor of the Car.Fig. 264.—Details of the Floor of the Car.The wheels themselves cannot be made by the young experimenter unless he has a lathe. They are flanged wheels, one and one-eighth inches in diameter, and are turned from cast iron or brass. Such wheels can be purchased ready made, or it may be possible to obtain from some broken toy a set which will prove suitable.Fig. 265.—Details of the Bearing which supports the Wheel and Axle.Fig. 265.—Details of the Bearing which supports the Wheel and Axle.Each shaft is composed of two pieces of "Bessemer" rod held together by a short piece of fiber rod having a hole in each end into which one end of each piece of iron rod is driven. The wheels fit tightly on the other end of each of these pieces. They should be spaced so as to run on rails two inches apart.Fig. 266.—The Wheels and Axle.Fig. 266.—The Wheels and Axle.The purpose of the fiber rod is to insulate the halves of the axle from each other. The electric current which operates the car is carried by the two rails which form the track, and if the axles were made in one piece or the halves joined together so as to form an electrical connection, the battery furnishing the current would be short-circuited, because the current would pass along the two rails and across the axles instead of through the motor.One pair of wheels are fitted with a grooved pulley one inch in diameter.It is hardly necessary to say that the wheels and axles should be perfectly aligned, and should run true.Fig. 267.—The Motor.Fig. 267.—The Motor.The motor used to drive the car will prove more satisfactory if purchased ready made. A self-starting three-pole motor similar to that shown in Figure 267 will serve very nicely. The wooden base should be removed and the motor screwed down firmly to the floor of the car as in Figure 268.One terminal of the motor is connected to one of the bearings, and the other terminal to the other bearing.The motor is belted to a countershaft so that it will have sufficient power to move the car. It cannot be directly connected or belted to the axle, because the speed of a small motor is so high that it has comparatively little turning power ortorque. The speed must be reduced and the torque increased before it will drive the car.The countershaft consists of two grooved pulleys mounted upon an axle running in two bearings mounted upon the floor of the car. The bearings are made from a strip of heavy sheet-brass, bent at right angles and fastened to the car floor with small screws. The large pulley,A, is one inch and one half in diameter and the small pulley,B, is five-sixteenths of an inch in diameter. The countershaft is mounted in such a position that a belt may be run from the small pulley,B, to the pulley mounted on the axle of one pair of wheels. A belt is also run from the small pulley on the motor to the large pulley,A, on the countershaft. The pulleys must all be carefully lined up so that the belts will run in their grooves without danger of slipping out.Fig. 268.—The Complete Truck of the Car without the Body.Fig. 268.—The Complete Truck of the Car without the Body.The shield on the platform at each end of the car is made of sheet-iron or tin. Two small projections on the bottom are bent over at right angles and used to secure the shields in position by driving a small tack through them into the floor of the car.The steps on either side of each platform are also made by bending strips of sheet-iron or tin and fastening them to the car with small nails or tacks.The coupler consists of a strip of tin having a small hook soldered to the end so that a trail car may be attached if desirable.Fig. 269.—Pattern for the Sides and Ends of the Car.Fig. 269.—Pattern for the Sides and Ends of the Car.The car is now ready for testing, and when held in the hand so that the wheels are free to run, two cells of dry battery should be found all that is necessary to drive them at a fair rate of speed. The two wires leading from the battery should be connected to the bearings, one wire leading to each bearing. It will require more than two cells, however, to drive the wheels properly when the car is on the track, All moving parts should run freely and smoothly. The car may be used just as it is, but if fitted with a body and a top it will present a much more realistic appearance.The sides and ends of the car body are made of sheet-iron or tin. Figure 269 shows the pattern and dimensions for these parts. They may be made from one piece of metal eighteen and one-half inches long and three and three-quarters inches wide. The doors and windows are cut out with a pair of tin-snips. The small projections along the top are bent down at right angles and the roof is fastened to them. The dotted lines indicate the places for bending these projections and also the sides and ends of the car.Fig. 270.—The Roof of the Car.Fig. 270.—The Roof of the Car.The roof is made in two pieces. It also is sheet-iron or tin. The roof proper is eight inches long and four inches wide. It has a hole five and one-half inches long and one and three-quarters inches wide cut in the center. A number of small projections are left and bent upward to support the deck and to form imitation ventilators. The deck is six inches long and two and one-quarter inches in width. It is placed in position on the roof and fastened by soldering. The roof is fastened to the sides and ends of the car by soldering. It must be bent slightly to conform with the curve at the top of the front and the rear of the car.Fig. 271.—The Completed Car.Fig. 271.—The Completed Car.The car when completed will appear as in Figure 271.The track is made of smooth spring steel, one-half inch wide and either No. 20 or No. 22 gauge in thickness.Fig. 272.–Details of a Wooden Tie.Fig. 272.–Details of a Wooden Tie.The wooden ties are three and one-half inches long, three-quarters of an inch wide and three-eighths of an inch thick. Each tie has two saw-cuts, exactly two inches apart across the top face. This part of the work is best performed in a miter-box so that the cuts will be perfectly square across the ties. A saw should be used which will make a cut of such a size that the steel track will fit tightly into it.The distance between the two rails of the track, or the "gauge," as it is called, is two inches.Fig. 273.–Arrangement of Track.Fig. 273.–Arrangement of Track.The track is assembled as in Figure 273. The spring steel is forced into the saw-cuts in the ties by tapping with a light wooden mallet. The ties should be spaced along the track about three inches apart. The work of laying the track must be very carefully done so that the car wheels will not bind at any spot. Curves should not be too sharp, or the car will not pass around.The track may be laid out in a number of different shapes, some of which are shown in Figure 274.Fig. 274.—Three Different Patterns for laying out the Track.Fig. 274.—Three Different Patterns for laying out the Track.A circle is the easiest form of track to make. In laying out a circle or any sort of curved track, the outside rail must necessarily be made longer than the inside one.The oval shape is a very good form to give the track in a great many cases, especially where it is desirable for the car to have a longer path than that afforded by a circle.Fig. 275.—Details of the Base of the Cross-over.Fig. 275.—Details of the Base of the Cross-over.In order to make a figure-eight out of the track, a crossing, or "cross-over," as it is sometimes called, will be required. This is shown in Figure 275. A cross-over permits two tracks to cross each other without interference. It consists of a wooden base, eight inches square and three-eighths of an inch thick. Four saw-cuts, each pair exactly parallel, and two inches apart, are made at right angles to each other across the top surface of the base, as shown in the illustration.The track used on the cross-over is semi-hard hoop-brass, one-half of an inch wide and of the same gauge as the steel track. The brass is more easily bent than the steel and is used for that reason, it being practically impossible to bend the steel track at right angles without snapping it.Four pieces of the brass, each five inches long, are bent at right angles exactly in the center. Four short pieces, each one and one-half inches long, will also be required.Fig. 276.—The Completed Cross-over.Fig. 276.—The Completed Cross-over.The cross-over is assembled as shown in Figure 276. The strips markedDare strips of very thin sheet-brass or copper. The purpose of these strips is to connect the ends of the track on the cross-over to the ends of the track forming the figure-eight so that the cross-over will not be a "dead" section, that is, a section of track where the car cannot get any current.The long strips, bent at right angles to each other and markedA,A,B,B, in the illustration, are forced into the saw-cuts in the base over the strips markedD.The small pieces,C,C,C,C, are placed in between the long strips, leaving a space between so that the flanges of the car wheels can pass. The pieces,C,C,C,C, should form a square open at the corners. The two long strips,A,A, should be at opposite corners diagonally across the square.BandBshould occupy the same relative position at the other corners.AandAare connected together andBandBare connected together by wires passing on the under side of the base.The ends of the track forming the figure-eight are forced into the saw-cuts at the edges of the base so that they form a good electrical connection with the small strips markedD.It is quite necessary to use care in arranging a figure-eight track, or there will be danger of short-circuiting the batteries. The outside rails of the figure-eight, distinguished by the letterBin the illustration, should be connected together by the cross-over. The inside rails, markedA, should also be connected together by the cross-over.In order to make a good mechanical and electrical connection between the ends of the rails when two or more sections of track are used in laying out the system, it is necessary to either solder the rails together or else use a connector such as that shown in Figure 277.This consists of a small block of wood having a saw-cut across its upper face and a piece of thin sheet-brass set into the cut. The two rails are placed with their ends abutting and one of these connectors slipped up from beneath and forced on the rails. The piece of thin brass set into the wooden block serves to make an electrical connection between the two rails and also to hold them firmly in position. A small screw and a washer placed outside the track and passing through the brass strip will allow a battery wire to be conveniently attached.Fig. 277.—A Connector for joining the Ends of the Rails.Fig. 277.—A Connector for joining the Ends of the Rails.The steel rails should be occasionally wiped with machine oil or vaseline to prevent rusting, and also to allow the car to run more freely wherever the flanges of the wheels rub against the rails in passing around a curve.Four dry cells or three cells of storage battery should be sufficient to operate the car properly. If it is desirable, a small rheostat may be included in the battery circuit, so that the speed of the car can be varied at will. The motor and the wheels should be carefully oiled so that they will run without friction. The belts should not be so tight that they cause friction or so loose that they allow the motor to slip, but should be so adjusted that the motor runs freely and transmits its power to the wheels.The car may be made reversible by fitting with a small current reverser, but unless the reverser is carefully made the danger of loss of power through poor contacts is quite considerable. If the car is fitted with a reverser the handle should be arranged to project from the car in a convenient place where it can be easily reached by the fingers and the car sent back or forth at will.A railway system such as this can be elaborated and extended by adding more than one car to the line or such features as bridges and stations.Fig. 278.—A Bumper for preventing the Car from leaving the Rails.Fig. 278.—A Bumper for preventing the Car from leaving the Rails.The ends of a blind section of track, that is, a straight piece of track not part of a circle or curve so that the car can return, should be fitted with a track bumper, to prevent the car leaving the rails.Fig. 279.—A Design for a Railway Bridge.Fig. 279.—A Design for a Railway Bridge.No dimensions are given in Figures 279 and 280, showing designs for a bridge and a station, because they are best left to be determined by the scale upon which the railway system is to be extended.Fig. 280.—A Design for a Railway Station.Fig. 280.—A Design for a Railway Station.Both the bridge and the station are very simple. The bridge is built entirely of wood, with the exception of the steel rails.The station may be made out of thin wood, such as cigar-box wood. The doors, windows, etc., may be painted on the walls. If this is carefully done, it will give a very realistic appearance to your station.MINIATURE LIGHTING
No toys loom up before the mind of the average boy with more appeal to his love of adventure than do railway cars and trains. In England, the construction and operation of miniature railways is the hobby not only of boys but of grown men, and on a scale that is hardly appreciated in this country.
The height of ambition of many boys is not only to own a miniature railway system but to build one. For some unknown reason, none of the boys’ papers or books have heretofore given any information on this interesting subject. The car shown in Figure 263 is such that it can be easily built by any boy willing to exercise the necessary care and patience in its construction.
The first operation is to cut out the floor of the car. This is a rectangular piece of hard wood, eight inches long, three and one-quarter inches wide and one-half of an inch thick. Its exact shape and dimensions are shown in Figure 264.
The rectangular hole cut in the floor permits the belt which drives the wheels to pass down from the counter-shaft to the axle.
Fig. 263.—Complete Electric Railway operated by Dry Cells.Fig. 263.—Complete Electric Railway operated by Dry Cells. Note how the Wires from the Battery are connected to the Rails by means of the Wooden Conductors illustrated in Figure 277.
Fig. 263.—Complete Electric Railway operated by Dry Cells. Note how the Wires from the Battery are connected to the Rails by means of the Wooden Conductors illustrated in Figure 277.
The two pieces forming the wheel-bearings are cut out of sheet-brass according to the shape and dimensions shown in Figure 265. The brass should be one-sixteenth of an inch thick. The two projecting pieces at the top are bent over at right angles so that they can be mounted on the under side of the car floor by small screws passing through the holes. The holes which form the bearings for the ends of the axles upon which the wheels are mounted should be three inches apart. The bearings cannot be placed in position on the under side of the car floor until the wheels and axles are ready, but when this work is done, care should be taken to see that they line up and come exactly opposite to each other.
Fig. 264.—Details of the Floor of the Car.Fig. 264.—Details of the Floor of the Car.
Fig. 264.—Details of the Floor of the Car.
The wheels themselves cannot be made by the young experimenter unless he has a lathe. They are flanged wheels, one and one-eighth inches in diameter, and are turned from cast iron or brass. Such wheels can be purchased ready made, or it may be possible to obtain from some broken toy a set which will prove suitable.
Fig. 265.—Details of the Bearing which supports the Wheel and Axle.Fig. 265.—Details of the Bearing which supports the Wheel and Axle.
Fig. 265.—Details of the Bearing which supports the Wheel and Axle.
Each shaft is composed of two pieces of "Bessemer" rod held together by a short piece of fiber rod having a hole in each end into which one end of each piece of iron rod is driven. The wheels fit tightly on the other end of each of these pieces. They should be spaced so as to run on rails two inches apart.
Fig. 266.—The Wheels and Axle.Fig. 266.—The Wheels and Axle.
Fig. 266.—The Wheels and Axle.
The purpose of the fiber rod is to insulate the halves of the axle from each other. The electric current which operates the car is carried by the two rails which form the track, and if the axles were made in one piece or the halves joined together so as to form an electrical connection, the battery furnishing the current would be short-circuited, because the current would pass along the two rails and across the axles instead of through the motor.
One pair of wheels are fitted with a grooved pulley one inch in diameter.
It is hardly necessary to say that the wheels and axles should be perfectly aligned, and should run true.
Fig. 267.—The Motor.Fig. 267.—The Motor.
Fig. 267.—The Motor.
The motor used to drive the car will prove more satisfactory if purchased ready made. A self-starting three-pole motor similar to that shown in Figure 267 will serve very nicely. The wooden base should be removed and the motor screwed down firmly to the floor of the car as in Figure 268.
One terminal of the motor is connected to one of the bearings, and the other terminal to the other bearing.
The motor is belted to a countershaft so that it will have sufficient power to move the car. It cannot be directly connected or belted to the axle, because the speed of a small motor is so high that it has comparatively little turning power ortorque. The speed must be reduced and the torque increased before it will drive the car.
The countershaft consists of two grooved pulleys mounted upon an axle running in two bearings mounted upon the floor of the car. The bearings are made from a strip of heavy sheet-brass, bent at right angles and fastened to the car floor with small screws. The large pulley,A, is one inch and one half in diameter and the small pulley,B, is five-sixteenths of an inch in diameter. The countershaft is mounted in such a position that a belt may be run from the small pulley,B, to the pulley mounted on the axle of one pair of wheels. A belt is also run from the small pulley on the motor to the large pulley,A, on the countershaft. The pulleys must all be carefully lined up so that the belts will run in their grooves without danger of slipping out.
Fig. 268.—The Complete Truck of the Car without the Body.Fig. 268.—The Complete Truck of the Car without the Body.
Fig. 268.—The Complete Truck of the Car without the Body.
The shield on the platform at each end of the car is made of sheet-iron or tin. Two small projections on the bottom are bent over at right angles and used to secure the shields in position by driving a small tack through them into the floor of the car.
The steps on either side of each platform are also made by bending strips of sheet-iron or tin and fastening them to the car with small nails or tacks.
The coupler consists of a strip of tin having a small hook soldered to the end so that a trail car may be attached if desirable.
Fig. 269.—Pattern for the Sides and Ends of the Car.Fig. 269.—Pattern for the Sides and Ends of the Car.
Fig. 269.—Pattern for the Sides and Ends of the Car.
The car is now ready for testing, and when held in the hand so that the wheels are free to run, two cells of dry battery should be found all that is necessary to drive them at a fair rate of speed. The two wires leading from the battery should be connected to the bearings, one wire leading to each bearing. It will require more than two cells, however, to drive the wheels properly when the car is on the track, All moving parts should run freely and smoothly. The car may be used just as it is, but if fitted with a body and a top it will present a much more realistic appearance.
The sides and ends of the car body are made of sheet-iron or tin. Figure 269 shows the pattern and dimensions for these parts. They may be made from one piece of metal eighteen and one-half inches long and three and three-quarters inches wide. The doors and windows are cut out with a pair of tin-snips. The small projections along the top are bent down at right angles and the roof is fastened to them. The dotted lines indicate the places for bending these projections and also the sides and ends of the car.
Fig. 270.—The Roof of the Car.Fig. 270.—The Roof of the Car.
Fig. 270.—The Roof of the Car.
The roof is made in two pieces. It also is sheet-iron or tin. The roof proper is eight inches long and four inches wide. It has a hole five and one-half inches long and one and three-quarters inches wide cut in the center. A number of small projections are left and bent upward to support the deck and to form imitation ventilators. The deck is six inches long and two and one-quarter inches in width. It is placed in position on the roof and fastened by soldering. The roof is fastened to the sides and ends of the car by soldering. It must be bent slightly to conform with the curve at the top of the front and the rear of the car.
Fig. 271.—The Completed Car.Fig. 271.—The Completed Car.
Fig. 271.—The Completed Car.
The car when completed will appear as in Figure 271.
The track is made of smooth spring steel, one-half inch wide and either No. 20 or No. 22 gauge in thickness.
Fig. 272.–Details of a Wooden Tie.Fig. 272.–Details of a Wooden Tie.
Fig. 272.–Details of a Wooden Tie.
The wooden ties are three and one-half inches long, three-quarters of an inch wide and three-eighths of an inch thick. Each tie has two saw-cuts, exactly two inches apart across the top face. This part of the work is best performed in a miter-box so that the cuts will be perfectly square across the ties. A saw should be used which will make a cut of such a size that the steel track will fit tightly into it.
The distance between the two rails of the track, or the "gauge," as it is called, is two inches.
Fig. 273.–Arrangement of Track.Fig. 273.–Arrangement of Track.
Fig. 273.–Arrangement of Track.
The track is assembled as in Figure 273. The spring steel is forced into the saw-cuts in the ties by tapping with a light wooden mallet. The ties should be spaced along the track about three inches apart. The work of laying the track must be very carefully done so that the car wheels will not bind at any spot. Curves should not be too sharp, or the car will not pass around.
The track may be laid out in a number of different shapes, some of which are shown in Figure 274.
Fig. 274.—Three Different Patterns for laying out the Track.Fig. 274.—Three Different Patterns for laying out the Track.
Fig. 274.—Three Different Patterns for laying out the Track.
A circle is the easiest form of track to make. In laying out a circle or any sort of curved track, the outside rail must necessarily be made longer than the inside one.
The oval shape is a very good form to give the track in a great many cases, especially where it is desirable for the car to have a longer path than that afforded by a circle.
Fig. 275.—Details of the Base of the Cross-over.Fig. 275.—Details of the Base of the Cross-over.
Fig. 275.—Details of the Base of the Cross-over.
In order to make a figure-eight out of the track, a crossing, or "cross-over," as it is sometimes called, will be required. This is shown in Figure 275. A cross-over permits two tracks to cross each other without interference. It consists of a wooden base, eight inches square and three-eighths of an inch thick. Four saw-cuts, each pair exactly parallel, and two inches apart, are made at right angles to each other across the top surface of the base, as shown in the illustration.
The track used on the cross-over is semi-hard hoop-brass, one-half of an inch wide and of the same gauge as the steel track. The brass is more easily bent than the steel and is used for that reason, it being practically impossible to bend the steel track at right angles without snapping it.
Four pieces of the brass, each five inches long, are bent at right angles exactly in the center. Four short pieces, each one and one-half inches long, will also be required.
Fig. 276.—The Completed Cross-over.Fig. 276.—The Completed Cross-over.
Fig. 276.—The Completed Cross-over.
The cross-over is assembled as shown in Figure 276. The strips markedDare strips of very thin sheet-brass or copper. The purpose of these strips is to connect the ends of the track on the cross-over to the ends of the track forming the figure-eight so that the cross-over will not be a "dead" section, that is, a section of track where the car cannot get any current.
The long strips, bent at right angles to each other and markedA,A,B,B, in the illustration, are forced into the saw-cuts in the base over the strips markedD.
The small pieces,C,C,C,C, are placed in between the long strips, leaving a space between so that the flanges of the car wheels can pass. The pieces,C,C,C,C, should form a square open at the corners. The two long strips,A,A, should be at opposite corners diagonally across the square.BandBshould occupy the same relative position at the other corners.AandAare connected together andBandBare connected together by wires passing on the under side of the base.
The ends of the track forming the figure-eight are forced into the saw-cuts at the edges of the base so that they form a good electrical connection with the small strips markedD.
It is quite necessary to use care in arranging a figure-eight track, or there will be danger of short-circuiting the batteries. The outside rails of the figure-eight, distinguished by the letterBin the illustration, should be connected together by the cross-over. The inside rails, markedA, should also be connected together by the cross-over.
In order to make a good mechanical and electrical connection between the ends of the rails when two or more sections of track are used in laying out the system, it is necessary to either solder the rails together or else use a connector such as that shown in Figure 277.
This consists of a small block of wood having a saw-cut across its upper face and a piece of thin sheet-brass set into the cut. The two rails are placed with their ends abutting and one of these connectors slipped up from beneath and forced on the rails. The piece of thin brass set into the wooden block serves to make an electrical connection between the two rails and also to hold them firmly in position. A small screw and a washer placed outside the track and passing through the brass strip will allow a battery wire to be conveniently attached.
Fig. 277.—A Connector for joining the Ends of the Rails.Fig. 277.—A Connector for joining the Ends of the Rails.
Fig. 277.—A Connector for joining the Ends of the Rails.
The steel rails should be occasionally wiped with machine oil or vaseline to prevent rusting, and also to allow the car to run more freely wherever the flanges of the wheels rub against the rails in passing around a curve.
Four dry cells or three cells of storage battery should be sufficient to operate the car properly. If it is desirable, a small rheostat may be included in the battery circuit, so that the speed of the car can be varied at will. The motor and the wheels should be carefully oiled so that they will run without friction. The belts should not be so tight that they cause friction or so loose that they allow the motor to slip, but should be so adjusted that the motor runs freely and transmits its power to the wheels.
The car may be made reversible by fitting with a small current reverser, but unless the reverser is carefully made the danger of loss of power through poor contacts is quite considerable. If the car is fitted with a reverser the handle should be arranged to project from the car in a convenient place where it can be easily reached by the fingers and the car sent back or forth at will.
A railway system such as this can be elaborated and extended by adding more than one car to the line or such features as bridges and stations.
Fig. 278.—A Bumper for preventing the Car from leaving the Rails.Fig. 278.—A Bumper for preventing the Car from leaving the Rails.
Fig. 278.—A Bumper for preventing the Car from leaving the Rails.
The ends of a blind section of track, that is, a straight piece of track not part of a circle or curve so that the car can return, should be fitted with a track bumper, to prevent the car leaving the rails.
Fig. 279.—A Design for a Railway Bridge.Fig. 279.—A Design for a Railway Bridge.
Fig. 279.—A Design for a Railway Bridge.
No dimensions are given in Figures 279 and 280, showing designs for a bridge and a station, because they are best left to be determined by the scale upon which the railway system is to be extended.
Fig. 280.—A Design for a Railway Station.Fig. 280.—A Design for a Railway Station.
Fig. 280.—A Design for a Railway Station.
Both the bridge and the station are very simple. The bridge is built entirely of wood, with the exception of the steel rails.
The station may be made out of thin wood, such as cigar-box wood. The doors, windows, etc., may be painted on the walls. If this is carefully done, it will give a very realistic appearance to your station.
MINIATURE LIGHTING